South Africa’s rand sank this week to within sight of three-year lows against the dollar as a wave of strikes spread beyond the mining sector, threatening the biggest industrial crisis since the end of apartheid. After two months of violent labor unrest in the platinum and gold mines, Japanese car giant Toyota said on Thursday
Food shortages in South Africa?
Retailer Pick n Pay warned on Thursday that it was running low on some goods at its stores due to the truck drivers’ strike. “The effect is most noticeable in fresh produce and poultry,” operations director Neal Quirk said. Despite contingency plans being in place, shelves at some of its outlets in the Johannesburg CBD
Strikers attack truck and driver
A truck driver and two other people were in hospital on Thursday after their truck was torched on the N12, Ekurhuleni metro police said. “The driver and his two co-drivers were seriously injured…. The three were battered by angry mob of striking truck drivers,” said spokesman Superintendent Vusi Mabanga. The attackers ran away and no
Winning a battle of wits with a half wit
by Ilana Mercer It was hard not to feel sorry for President Barack Obama during what was the first of three presidential debates. The dejected demeanor and the perpetually lowered gaze conjured an unprepared student peppered by a pedantic teacher with questions he could not possibly answer. The president’s pose spoke to the beating he
‘The American Dream is a Myth’
The finance industry must take the blame for the growing divide between the rich and poor in the United States, says Nobel Prize-winning economics professor Joseph Stiglitz. In an interview with SPIEGEL, he accuses the industry of preying on the poor and buying government policies that help them get richer American economist and 2001 Nobel
Muslims fear Serb win in Srebrenica
Muslims from Srebrenica, the site of Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II, fear a Bosnian Serb win in Sunday’s local polls would represent “the final step of a genocide”. Bosnian Serb forces summarily executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys after they captured the eastern town in July 1995. Two international courts have ruled
Congolese warlord appeals
The International Criminal Court’s first convict, Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, on Wednesday appealed his 14-year sentence for using children in his rebel army, his lawyers said. Former militia commander Lubanga, 51, was sentenced in July for his part in a war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where aid groups say 60,000 people have
Zulu power for Zuma
Shifts in ANC membership within South Africa’s provinces have given President Jacob Zuma a fighting chance of holding on to the party leadership and the presidency. The number of ANC members in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal might seem like a detail only of interest to South African political scientists. In fact, the number may
Pietersburg mayor, City Press settle
The executive mayor of Polokwane (Pietersburg) in Limpopo, Freddy Greaver, and the City Press newspaper have reached a settlement over his defamation case, editor Ferial Haffajee said on Wednesday. “Mr Greaver started off by suing the newspaper for R15 million. We agreed to apologise and settled at R100,000,” Haffajee said. “We never meant to implicate
Liking blacks more: Diversity training
Nashville – Democratic leaders point to insulting comments made by two Republican lawmakers to the Legislature’s black caucus in calling for legislators to undergo diversity and sensitivity training. State Sen. Jim Summerville of Dickson has been criticized for an email he sent earlier this month to the chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State
Violence explodes in black US cities
As more and more Americans across the country become impoverished by rising costs for essential goods, falling wages, job losses, and an unraveling social safety net, those with nothing left to lose are becoming more daring, more aggressive and more ruthless. Nowhere is this as apparent than in the cities of Chicago, where police have compared the
Romney-Obama debate aggressive
DENVER (AP) — In a showdown at close quarters, an aggressive Mitt Romney sparred with President Barack Obama in their first campaign debate Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy. “The status quo is not going to cut it,” declared the Republican challenger. Democrat Obama
Hanekom becomes Minister of Science and Technology
Newly-appointed Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom will continue to steer South Africa towards a knowledge economy, his department said on Wednesday. “Hanekom is familiar with the portfolio of science and technology and he will continue with the drive to steer the country towards a knowledge economy,” director general Phil Mjwara said in a statement.
Read more: Hanekom becomes Minister of Science and Technology
Five trucks burning in Kempton alone
Two more trucks were set alight in Kempton Park in the ongoing truck driver strike, bringing the total to five. The two latest incidents took place on Tuesday afternoon and early on Wednesday morning. A burning eight-ton truck caused peak hour chaos at the intersection of André Greyvensteyn and Pretoria roads in Isando on Tuesday